Traffic Educator

So just how does Google decide the order of search results?  I’ll let you in on a little secret:

No one but the programmers at Google really knows.

That’s right, no one knows for sure!  What we do know is that there are certain things that effect the rank, and that when we adjust those things, the rank of a website will go up or down.  Every website is assigned a score by Google, called PageRank, that Google then uses to list sites.  No one is sure what goes into PageRank 100%, but the following information appears to help them decide.

All of the following criteria can be summed up in one word: relevance.  The key to getting high rankings in Google is relevance.  To rank well in Google, you need to be as relevant to what a searcher is looking for as possible.

So let’s look at 3 things that make up a good chunk of relevance:

1.  Content, content, content
The textual content on your website is the number one way Google (and other search engines) know what your site is about.  The more on topic content you have the more the search engines have to work with.  If, for example, you have a florist website, the more content about flowers you have, the more apparent that you are an authority in flowers.  Make sure that you have enough content to really draw people in and understand what you are about.

Another consideration is the freshness of your content.  Is it always the same?  When was the last time you put up new content?  Consider adding new stuff as often as possible.  Any industry news you could share?  Any tips or tricks you could talk about?  The more quality content you can come up with, the more important you will become on the web.

2.  Here’s linking to you, kid
Links to your website determine your popularity.  Just like high school, the more people you know that talk about you and link to your website, the more popular you appear.  The more popular you are, the higher sites like Google will list you.  Now think about this, if those people that link to you are popular, then you get an even bigger boost!  And if those sites are on the same topic as your site?  That’s right!  Again, an even bigger boost!

This is why it is important to get people talking.  Talk to bloggers, contribute to forums or do some good for the community.  The more you get your name out there, the more people will link to you.  The more the link love, the higher your rank will become.

3.  The older, the wiser
Just open your site yesterday?  Chances are it’s going to take a while for your site to become popular enough, or look relevant enough to rank very high.  Be patient!  Often times people will buy a new domain name and through all kinds of crazy stuff out there.  By taking some time, the search engines will be able to better know your site and make sure it ranks in the right place.

Here’s a neat trick though, if you haven’t bought your domain name yet, consider buying one at an auction that’s been around a little longer.  These sites may already be getting traffic and might be ranking already.  If you already have a domain, don’t worry about it; just be patient!

There are some things you should probably try to avoid, as they may make you look less relevant, and more annoying, and could get you ranked lower, or even thrown out of the search engine playground.  Here are three pretty big ones:

1.  Leaving your own links where they don’t belong
If you remember the first half of this article, you will remember that links are important; however, random, spammy links are NOT helpful!  Don’t go and post things like “Hey Awesome Site!  Visit Mine!” on a technology site if your website is for flowers.  You need to be a part of the community, you don’t need to offend the community.  Before you write your link anywhere, take a step back and ask yourself, “If I was just a visitor here, would I find this link helpful?  Or would this link seem out of place?”  If it would be out of place, don’t do it!

2.  Bogus content
Nothing is more irritating than clicking on a link that looks like it is for something you are looking for and then ending up at a website that only has one page with a little article about it.  Let me give you an example:

Let’s say I am looking for information on the timing belt for my car and I search for timing belts on Google.  I see a link that says “Everything you have ever wanted to know about timing belts!” so I, of course, click on it.  When I get to the site, there is only one paragraph that describes what a timing belt is, and the rest of the site is a flower shop.  I’ve been tricked!  And my time has been wasted.

Well, the search engines are onto that type of thing, and if you get caught, you could get in trouble (unlisted or ranked poorly).

3.  Hiding text
So if Google looks at the text on your website to see what it’s about, but that text needs to be readable for people visiting your site, why not put all kinds of related keywords and phrases on your site in the same color as the background!  That way the search engines will be able to see it, but your visitors will not!  Brilliant!

No, sorry, it isn’t.  This trick will get you in trouble too…the search engines know what color your background is and what color text you are writing in, and if it looks like you are hiding stuff, then you could be in trouble.

So there you have it, 3 things that contribute to your good reputation and 3 things that can tarnish it.  Knowing what is in Google’s secret sauce will help you better position your site for higher rankings!